Christchurch << PREVIOUS | NEXT PROJECT >>
Situated in a difficult interface location – between loyalist Sandy Row and nationalist/republican West Belfast – Christchurch proved to be a challenging restoration. Built in 1832 to the designs of Dublin architect William Farrell, the building is noted as one of the remaining vestiges of Georgian Belfast and is instantly recognisable for the severe austerity of its classical façade.
It is the third oldest Anglican Church in Belfast, built by public subscription for those worshippers who did not wish to pay tithes at St. Anne’s or St. George’s. Christchurch was famed as a bastion of Anglican liberalism but also played host to a number of radical preachers – Lord Randolph Churchill amongst them on the eve of the Home Rule controversy. Among the regular congregation was the great Belfast architect Sir Charles Lanyon, and his wife Helen.
Having suffered a declining congregation the church closed and was deconsecrated in the early 1990s. It was the victim of many attacks before the arson which destroyed it in 1995. Public safety was cited when demolition was suggested to make way for a new sports hall for the neighbouring Royal Belfast Academical Institution. In the end, an agreement was reached for a long-term lease and lease back scheme which allowed BBPT to undertake the restoration work, and RBAI to undertake the management of the building through a partnership.
A similar package of funding as that at St. Patrick’s School ensured that Christchurch was wonderfully restored as the library and IT centre for the Royal Belfast Academical Institution at a cost of £1.4 million. Opened in 2003 by HRH The Prince of Wales, the restoration has won many architectural and regeneration awards – including the first Georgian Group award in Ireland – and plays host to a vast array of community events. Christchurch is proof of the way in which restored buildings can bridge communities when politicians’ words cannot.
